Improvement in portable fences



1. M; WALLIS.

Portable Fence,

No. 35,793l Patented my 1, 1852.I

UNITED STATES JAMES M. IVALLIS,

PATENT OEEICE.

OF MILTON, IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE FENCES.

To all whom it may concern:`

Be it known that I, JAMEs M. WALLrs, of

. Milton, inthecounty of Van Buren and State of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Portable Fence; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which'- Figure 1 represents a face view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical'section of the same. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the position of the panels on top and bottom.

Similar letters of reference in the three views indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in giving to the upright posts or standards to which the longitudinal rails are secured alternately an inclination in opposite directions, so that each panel presents a warped surface, and that when the tops of the several uprights are brought in line their bottom ends or feet form a zigzag line, whereby the stability and firmness of the fence are considerably increased; also, in a peculiar manner of combining the top rails with the inclined posts, as will be hereinafter more fully explained, whereby a firm fence is produced and only one brace t0 K each standard is required.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it-s construction with reference to the drawings.

My fence is composed of the upright stand ards A and the longitudinal rails B.

The standards A consist of two upright posts, a, and inclined brace b, and the posts are fastened together at the bottom by the foot-piece 0 and at the top by a cross-bar, cl, (this cross-bar may, however, be left oft" when desired,) and the brace b is secured with its upper end to one of the posts by means of a nail or spike; and it is also steadied by crossbars, ef, that are attached to one of the posts and to said brace at certain intervals by means of nails or in any other desirable manner.

When the fence is put up, the standards are placed.in such a position that their braces point alternately in opposite directions, and the posts a c* of the several standards A A* are inclined toward the feet of their braces, as

clearly shown in Fig.'2 of the drawings. It is obvious, therefore, that when the tops of the several standards are brought in line their bottom parts will form a zigzag line, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3, where the lineg 7L indicates the position of the top and the zigzag line z' j the position of the bottom parts of the standards.

The rails B are placed between the posts a in the manner as clearly represented in Figs. l and 2. The lowest rail, l, rests with` one end on the foot-piece c, and its other end rests on the end of the lowest rail, 1*, in the next preceding standard. The second rail, 2, rests with one end on the end of the first rail, l'*, of the next succeeding, and with its other end it rests on the end of the second rail, 2*, in the nextpreceding standard. The third rail is arranged precisely like the second rail. The fourth rail rests with one end on the cross-bar f and with its other end on the end of the rail 4* in the next preceding standard, and the fth rail rests in a similar manner on the crossbar e and on the end of the next preceding rail, 5*, and, finally, the upper rail, C, is inserted between the posts a and above the brace b, the ends of the adjoining rails O G* being placed side by side, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Vhen desired, an additional set of rails may be placed on the upper crossbars, d,in the standards. For fences of ordinary height, however, these cromss-barsand the additional rails can be dispensed with. It will be observed that the rails fill completely the several spaces between the posts a and crossbars c ef, so that no rai-l can be raised to adinit swine to trespass. Furthermore, by placing the ends of the sixth or top rail C G* side by side a tie is formed, so that no panel can be upset without entirely overturning the whole fence, and that one brace on each standard is quite sufficient to render the fence firm.

The principal feature of my invention consists in the inclination given to the posts a, which, when placed alternately in opposite directions, cause the panels to assume warped surfaces, and when the tops of the several posts or standards are brought on line their bottom parts form a zigzag line, thereby imparting to the fence additional stability and rmness.

Letters Patent, is-

Having thus fully described niy invention, inclined posts ce, in combination with the rails what I claim as new, and desire to secure by C 0*, having their ends inserted side by side between the posts et, as descbed, thereby l. Giving to the upright posts or standards forming a tie and producing a firm fence With A, which support the longitudinal rails B, all only one brace on each standard. ternately an inclination in opposite direc a tions, substantially as and for the purpose .JAMES M' WALLIS specified. Witnesses:

2. The arrangement of the braces b, project- G. W. GILFILLAN, ing,` alternately in opposite directions from the JACKSON SMART. 

